Sprinkler



April 30, 1940. R, H R SSELL I 2,199,142

SPRINKLER Filed Aug. 6, 1957 I 12:9 1. 45 mi 43 27 v I lZ5- INVENTOR ROBERT HARRISON Russa LL A TTORNEY Fla. 3

Patented Apr. 30, 1940 NITED OEFME;

SPRINKLER,

Robert Harrison Russell, Worcester, Mass, as-

signor. to ROOkW-OOdi Sprinkler Company. of; Massachusetts, Worcester, Mass, a corporation f 1 a s use s Application August 6; 1937', SerialNo. 157,637

3 claim (01.. 2.99.421)

, This invention. relates tosprinklers, and'more particularly to sprinklers for fire extinguishment, both of the so-called automatidor thermostatically controlled type and, of'the so-called open type.

' For service in certain situations, itis desir-' able that a sprinkler shall simultaneously effect distribution of a liquid fireextinguishing agent" in diverse manners such as will cause various portions of, the agent to reach various predetermined areas and produce desired effects in such areas.

Thus it may 5 situated near side walls of such room,

the extinguishing agent throughout the entire area of the room.

To this end, a suitable. portion of the extin- 2Q guishing agent should leave the sprinklers. in

a more or less finely divided spray for distribution over nearby surfaces, while other portions" should leave in substantially continuous sheet" v form, in order to be more effectively projected may occur in either spray or more compact'form,

as may be predetermined by the characteristicsof the sprinkler structure.v

Correspondingly, for extinguishing fire in and 3 around containersof oil or other inflammable substances, itjis often very desirablejthat water or other extinguishing fluid shallbe applied, in a, finely divided spray tov the surfaces of; the substances within such containers, to the end that agitation and aeration of. such substances 3 shall be minimized; while being equallydesirable that, comparatively heavy sheets. of such fluid shall be applied to combustible surfaces. which are. subject toignition from the heat of fire within the containers.

Furthermore, while it is well recognized that, under many'circumstances, a more orless finely divided spray of a fire extinguishing agent adjacent to a point of combustion is more effective than a sheet or stream of greater compactness, both in the rapidity of heat absorption and in the cutting ofi. of oxygen; it isalso well known that a more compact sheet or stream of" an- 60 nearby, areas and will.v effect projection. of a.

be deemed expedient that" sprinklers installed in a given room shall be. n iy becapable of effecting adequate distribution of:

to more distant surfaces, whereat' distribution,

more compactstream or sheet towardjmore distant, areas. It; is further desirable-that such Spl'illkllillldY be simply, and. readily preset or adjusted'so that the compact portion will either retain mostof its, compact form or will become subdivided into. spray when reaching surfaces situated at. intendeddistances toward which it v be'made expedient by conditions atsuch surfaces; Examples of such other situations are foundin upper and lower berths ofboats, above and below store counters and work benches, and the like.

It is, therefore,

is directed, as may an important object of' this invention to provide a sprinkler which will efficiently effect uniform distribution of a. fluid over adjacent, distant and intervening areas simultaneously;

It is another object to provide a sprinkler which will more or less finely divide a portion of the medium which may issue therefromand effect projection of such portion to certain surfaces to, be sprinkled, and which will cause another portion'or the remainder of such issuing medium to be projected'ina sheet or stream to other such surfaces;

It. is a further object to provide such: a

sprinkler which will effect projection of 'such more-'finely divided portion: to nearby surfaces and of 1 such more compact portions to more distant surfaces.

. It is a still further object to provide, in such a sprinkler, structure whereby the relative proportions of such more finely divided and compact portions may be simply and expeditiously preset or adjusted, and whereby the-characteristics of such compact portions may be so'varied that, when reaching intended objectives', either there will have been little dispersion or else such. portions will have, become more or less finely divided while en route to such objectives.-

Other objects are to provide a sprinkler which may be simply and-inexpensively manufactured and assembled, and which will-be more efficient" in certain oft encountered situations than prior sprinklers.

Still; other. objects will be inpart' obvious andin part pointed out in greater detail in the course of the followingdescription.

In constructing, this inventionin accordance with a broad, aspect thereof, a deflector is associated with a discharge nozzle in such relationship, thereto that when a stream of fluid of intended character and velocity issues from the nozzle it will impinge against a surface of the deflector.

Such surface, is. preferably smooth enough to.

facilitate the, flow of av sheet of water thereover. and is so shapedthat asubstantial portion of such a streamwill, when leaving the deflector, be moving inia direction and at a velocity which.

into a spray a portion of the discharged stream.

For want of a better name, such a diverting memher will be hereinafter, at times, referred to as a diverter. i

Pursuant to a more specific aspect of this invention, such diverter involves a strip or bar which, for many uses, has one edge thereof substantially straight and the opposite edge serrated so as to break into a spray such portion of the sheet of liquid as may encounter it; although, for certain other uses, both edges should be serrated, and, for still other uses, both edges should be substantially straight.

Such diverter strip is so positioned with relation to the stream directing surface of the deflector that one of the edges of said diverter will be adjacent to said surface, and be so spaced therefrom as to permit a sheet of liquid of suitable thickness to pass between said diverter edge and the deflector.

Other and more specific aspects of this invention will be best understood from a consideration of the ensuing description, in connection with the annexed drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a so-called side-wall sprinkler head embodying the general and certain of the specific features of this invention;

between the diverter, the deflector and the nozzle;

Fig. 5 is a section of the deflector of Fig. 1 taken along the line 5-5, and illustrates a certain stream-directing-characteristic of the formation of said deflector;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a Well known type of sprinkler head, together with modifications in accordance with certain features of this invention; and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the sprinkler head of Fig. 6.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the threaded base or nipple 2| has an opening 23 therethrough (as indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2) and is suited for upright attachment to a distribution piping system to serve as a nozzle for projecting a jet of a fire extinguishing agent supplied through such piping.

A curved deflector 25 (see also Fig. 5) is formed integral with the base 2|, said deflector having a slightly concave portion 21 extending from said base at one side of the intended discharge path from said opening 23, and a further portion 29 inclining toward and extending across such path.

The portion 2'! of said deflector nearest said base 2| has a width several times the diameter of the opening 23, which width increases as said deflector extends away from said nozzle. Such concave portion, in association with the increasing width just referred to, serves with a desired degree of effectiveness for guiding substantially all of such stream as may issue from said nozzle,.as will now be more fully explained.

The surface 29, of said deflector, faces the path of such afore-said nozzle stream. Said 7 surface is comparatively smooth and inclines in a curve of gradually decreasing radius, whereby to convert a comparatively round stream into a stream of sheet form and to deflect such stream through a desired angle with a minimum loss of velocity. For some situations, it has been found that the free end 30 of the deflector 25 may best form'an angle of approximately seventy degrees with the axis of the opening 23, as viewed in Fig. 1.

A threaded hole 3| in the deflector 25 is shown in alignment with the opening 23, for receiving a supporting screw for automatic sprinkler thermostatic flow-controlling means. Detailed representation of such a screw and controlling means is herein omitted in the interest of clearness, in-as-much as such means forms no part of this invention. For open sprinkler service, such hole 3| may be omitted.

Holes 34, 34 may be provided in the deflector 25, in the path of a stream from nozzle23, for conducting extinguishing fluid to surfaces situated at the opposite side of the deflector; such holes, by their size, number and direction, determining the nature and extent of fluid distribution along ceiling or other surfaces otherwise shielded from such distribution by the deflector 25.

A diverter 4|, of semi-circular form, is secured to the deflector 25 by the lugs 43 and is situated just outside the path of a stream or jet directly from the nozzle 2|, while being in the path of such a stream along the surface of said deflector after impinging thereupon. (See Fig. 4).

Said diverter 4| flares outwardly, so that the portion thereof farthest from said deflector is of greatest radius.

The edge 46 of said'diverter 4| which'is' nearest to said deflector is spaced therefrom sumciently to provide the openings 45, 45 therebetween (see Fig. 3); which openings are of such width as to permit a sheet of liquid of desired thickness to p'ass'therethrough. The opposite edge of said diverter has the serrations 41 formed therein for breaking up or finely dividing that portion of the nozzle stream which is diverted by said diverter from following along the surface of said deflector.

From the foregoing it will be understood that, in operation, substantially all of a stream of fluid issuing from nozzle 23, at intended velocity, will strikethe deflector 25 in the vicinity of the diverter 4|, where it will be converted into a flat sheet or stream which will flow along the surface 29. A portion of such stream will pass through the openings 45, 45 substantially unimpeded and, by its acquired momentum, will be projected to distant surfaces, in accordance with its velocity, mass and the contour of the surface 29. Another portion of such stream will encounter the diverter edge 46 and pass among the serrations 41 and be thereby divided into a spray which will be projected to comparatively nearby surfaces;,the extent, density and character of such spray being determined by its veditions by embodying suitable characteristics in the form and size of the openings 45 and in the surface 29, in accordance with the foregoing explanations; and the character of the spray to be directed toward comparatively nearby surfaces may be variously preestablished by utilization of serrations i! suitable in size, number and formation; all as will be readily understood by those skilled in this art.

Referring now to the sprinkler of Figs. 6 and '7; the threaded base 62,! has an opening I23 therethrough, and has the yoke arms I26, 526 associated therewith. For automatic sprinkler service, these arms may carry a screw I3I at their junction I33, for supporting desired thermostatic flow-releasing mechanism.

A deflector I25 of oblong form is secured to the yoke arms H26, 526 at their junction I33. The major axis of this deflector corresponds substantially with the plane occupied by the arms I26, I26. The portion !29 of said deflector, which is situated at 'one side of said axis, extends perpendicularly to the axis of the opening I23.

The portion E2? of said deflector, which is situated at the other side of its said major axis, curves toward said base I2I for a reason which will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

A diverter MI is supported on the portion I29 of said deflector by the lugs I43; the adjacent edge N5 of said diverter being spaced from said deflector so as to provide an opening M5 therebetween, and the opposite edge of said diverter having the serrations Ml formed therein.

Said diverter MI is inclined with reference to the adjacent surface of the deflector so that the serrated edge I4! is farther from the pathof a jet from the nozzle I2! than the plain. or straight edge I46, to the end that, such portion of such jet as is diverted by said diverter will be directed in a path at an angle to the path of such portion as passes in sheet form between said diverter and the adjacent portion of said deflector.

The curvature of the portion I21 of the de-' flector !25 tends to direct fluid issuing from the nozzle I23 in the general direction of the edge I29 and towards the diverter I il, where portions of such fluid will be projected to distant surfaces, while other portions are formed into spray and projected to comparatively nearby surfaces, all in a manner corresponding with that hereinbefore described in connection with Figs. 1-5.

For situations where similar extents of fluid delivery should be effective at respective sides of the nozzle, a deflector may be provided which, in place of the curved portion I21 of the deflector I25. has a portion substantially perpendicular to the axis of the opening I23, similar to the portion I29, and having associated therewith a second diverter, such as the diverter Ml.

Where fluid delivery at one side of the nozzle should differ in extent from that at the other side, the deflector may be somewhat. curved at the side where there should be least extent of delivery,'and the diverter at such side may be higher and/or may be so placed or formed as to leave a smaller opening thereunder, than the di-:

verter at the other side; or a combination of such expedients maybe employed.

Under other circumstances, diverters ,more or be more or less completely surrounded by diverter structure.

For installation in a pendent position, sprinklers constructed in accordance with this invention will give best results for many situations if a serrated diverter edge is provided adjacent the deflector surface and a straight edge is on the opposite side.

for providing given results, it should be kept in mind that serrations along a certain edge of the diverter tend to break into spray a stream of otherwise sheet formation passing over such edge, the proportion of such stream which will be broken into spray tends to increase with the length of serrations, and the fineness of such spray tends to increase with that of the interstices between serrations.

In any event, the nature and extent-of diverter structure suited for attaining needed results may, in the light of the foregoing explanations, be readily determined by those skilled in this art; and it will be apparent that this invention is not limited to the particular sprinklers illustrated What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States of America is:

l. A sprinkler comprising a discharge nozzle and a plate-like portion secured to said nozzle and from thence extending at one side of and then. at an angle with and across the intended discharge path, whereby a stream issuing from said nozzle will impinge against asurface of said plate-like portion and move thereover in a substantially solid sheet, in combination with. a diverter strip secured to said plate-like portion and inclined at an'angle to the adjacent part of said surface for divertinga portion of such sheet, and the outer edge of said strip being serrated for breaking into spray the diverted portion of said sheet.

2. A sprinkler head having a discharge outlet, a plate-like deflector surface extending to one side of the discharge outlet and intercepting the path of fluid discharged from the outlet in a manner to deliver a sheet of fluid therefrom to one side of the outlet, and a spray-forming member mounted on the surface and positioned in the fluid sheet in advance of the delivery point and serving to intercept and divert a portion only of fluid from the sheet before delivery from the surface to provide a distribution of spray over areas adjacent tothe head while permitting projection of the relatively continuous sheet of fluid to areas therebeyond.

3. A sprinkler head comprising an upright outlet discharging a substantially vertical stream, a plate-like deflector surface having a delivery edge positioned at one side cepting the stream delivered therefrom at an angle designed to divert the stream to one side of the head, and a diverting comb mounted upon the deflector surface in advance of the delivery edge and spaced from the deflector surface to intercept and transform a portion of the stream flowing over the deflector surface into spray before delivery of the remainder of the sheet from the delivery edge.

ROBERT HARRISON RUSSELL.

of the outlet and inter- 

